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A veggie-centric grain bowl is one of the hot new favorite comfort foods.
(Photo by Alison Ashton)

While we certainly love starchy, gooey fare, the experts at Pinterest see signs of comfort food moving in a lighter direction. The site, which boasts more than 4 billion food and drink “pins,” teamed up with turkey company Foster Farms to explore how comfort food is evolving.

“We’re using vegetables in new ways but in very familiar dishes,” says Stephanie Kumar, of Pinterest’s consumer insights team. “We still love pizza, but it’s getting a makeover with low-carb crusts made from cauliflower and healthier, veggie-centric toppings.”

Similarly, more of us are using lettuce instead of bread, cauliflower “rice,” spiralized zucchini or spaghetti squash instead of pasta, kale “chips,” and jackfruit instead of pork and beef. The trend toward lighter, fresher comfort food is especially strong among millennial parents.

And the new all-American comfort food dish may well be the Buddha bowl, a healthful, colorful arrangement of whole grains, lots of vegetables and lean protein, especially chicken (the most popular protein on the site). Pinterest reports Buddha bowl pins shot up more than 200 percent last year, making it one of 2017’s top food trends.